The Celebration of Our Lady of Sorrows is one of the most significant liturgical events in the Catholic calendar. It is officially scheduled by the Catholic Church every year on September 15th, the day after the celebration of the Exaltation of the Cross. Devotion to the Virgin of Sorrows and her Seven Sorrows already existed at the end of the 11th century.

In Sant’Angelo Muxaro, the celebrations have always taken place on the third weekend of September. It is without doubt the oldest festival in the community, dating back to its very origins. Its importance is deeply felt: so much so that the Virgin is considered a co-patroness, on equal footing with Saint Angelo Martyr.

In years past, beyond its religious significance, the festival also held strong anthropological and symbolic meaning for the people of Sant’Angelo: it marked a time of gratitude for the conclusion of the summer harvests—wheat, almonds, and pistachios. In fact, up until around fifteen years ago, it was still possible to set up a grand country fair, similar to those still organized in many Sicilian agricultural towns in September as part of their end-of-summer thanksgiving feasts.

A key symbol of this celebration, still maintained today, is the preparation of a typical sweet made exclusively in Sant’Angelo for this occasion: the so-called cubbaita, a type of nougat made with caramelized almonds. In the two weeks leading up to the feast, the intense aroma of this confection fills the village streets.

From a religious standpoint, the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows in Sant’Angelo is marked by a unique ritual. During the celebration, two processions follow the traditional “Way of the Saints”: the main procession of the Addolorata takes place on the third Saturday of September, while the following day, Sunday, features a repeat procession of Corpus Christi, echoing the one held earlier in May or June.

This ancient rite dates back to the original inhabitants of Monte Castello, who were deeply devoted to Our Lady of Sorrows and the Holy Saviour—a devotion already attested in 14th-century documents. This long-standing veneration is still visible today in the iconography of an altarpiece, preserved in a small chapel at the entrance of the town, known as the Virgo Dolorosa.

The procession is accompanied by special chants reminiscent of Good Friday, such as the Stabat Mater, and the statue of the Virgin is cloaked in a black mantle with gold trim.

The preservation of this feast holds symbolic, religious, and anthropological value, especially due to the uniqueness of the rite and the historical depth of a medieval devotion.

 

This element has been included in the Register of Intangible Heritage of local interest of the Municipality of Sant’Angelo Muxaro, as part of Intervention 5 “Activation of the Observatory on the Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Territory through the application of the REIL methodology – Register of Intangible Heritage of Local Interest”, within the “Mito, storia e tradizioni agropastorali” project, funded by the NRRP (National Recovery and Resilience Plan), Mission: Digitalisation, innovation, competitiveness, culture and tourism, Component: Tourism and culture 4.0, Investment 2.1 “Attractiveness of villages.” CUP: E69I22000140006.